Chiang Mai, Thailand

Police said locals saw Victor Zkmieziv, 32, urinating on Sapan Pak Lak bridge on Nanai Road in Patong around 4.20am yesterday (December 24). Locals said they saw him fall asleep, after which he tumbled down the steep ditch under the bridge, falling around 3 metres, and hitting his head.

They managed to bring him up to the road and called emergency services, and he was taken to Patong Hospital for treatment.

Kathu police received a report that a a tourist had been knocked unconscious on Patong’s Street Where Anything Goes.
When they arrived they found Aziz Javaid, 29, lying on the ground, out for the count, with cuts on his head and the beginnings of a black eye.

Witnesses told police that Mr Javaid was walking around demanding money from other tourists and being thoroughly rude to anyone who would not hand over some cash. Unluckily for him, the witnesses said, one of his targets took exception to this abuse and knocked him to the ground.

When one of a taxi drivers asked him if he wanted a taxi, Mr Hulands abused him, and the driver responded with similarly robust language.

Then, Mr Chaiyan alleged, the Australian grabbed the driver’s neck, and the driver punched him in the face.

After other people intervened and stopped the fight, Mr Chaiyan alleged, Mr Hulands walked back to Rock City and brought two friends with him back to the taxi rank and started another round of fighting, though the friends did not get involved.

At that point, Mr Chaiyan said, more than 10 drivers piled in and beat up the Australian.

But, he added, “I INSIST that no taxi driver made jokes about his girlfriend.”

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UNFORTUNATELY, a CCTV camera close to the scene was not working. Police are now looking for other camera footage to see if they can nail down the truth about the incident.

The Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, Pol Col Jirapat Poachanapan, said this incident would be a good case study to support the need for more effective CCTV coverage of Patong.

Currently, there are 31 CCTV cameras in Patong installed by government departments, but only 14 are working (45%).

“If the camera close by had been working, this case would have been sorted out a lot faster,” Col Jirapat said.

“We need to fix this problem as soon as possible. The improvement of CCTV camera [coverage] is now our top priority [for enhancing] our investigation system, and also as part of the Patong Safety Zone project.”

The commander of the Phuket Provincial Police yesterday ordered the tuk-tuk drivers responsible for beating two Dutch tourists in Patong earlier this month to turn themselves in or face stiffer punishment.

Commander Pekad Tantipong and Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao chaired a meeting with representatives of tuk-tuk co-operatives at Patong Police station to discuss the beating of Unobovd Alcawbimel, 19, and Bootaman Frans Jelle, 20, on August 1.

Maj Gen Pekad also reprimanded the tuk-tuk drivers for blockading Soi Bangla in protest following the beating.

The fight broke out in the early hours of August 1 allegedly after the two tourists refused to pay 1,000 baht in damages after one of them walked into a parked tuk-tuk.

A police officer nearby tried to intervene, but was allegedly restrained by the assailants. To end the fracas, the policeman fired a warning shot into the air, reports said.

The tuk-tuk drivers then set up a blockade in front of Soi Bangla to protest “unfair treatment” by police.

The two Dutchmen were treated at Patong Hospital for injuries sustained in the fight.

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“This type of behavior will only ruin Phuket’s reputation as a tourist destination and cause trouble for people,” he added.